This morning's reading is from Titus chapter 3, verses 1 to 7, found on page 1199 of the Church Bible. Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility towards all men. At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Right, why Christmas changes everything. And some of you are sitting there thinking, come on, get real, Christmas doesn't change anything. Come the 28th of December, you're thinking things are just the same. The bills still come in. If you live in the west of Scotland, as I do, the rain still comes down. And by and large, the wheels still come off in life in all our different circumstances. We recognize that things really are not going to dramatically, magically, automatically change come a week Friday. Yet, there is a real sense in which the message that lies behind Christmas, the reason why we celebrate the occasion, that itself, the events that we remember at this time, that's what changes life. That's what changes our experience. The message is consistently set before us in scripture as being essentially one of salvation. And that salvation runs through the Christmas narratives. From the very outset of Luke's gospel, it's the message that Zechariah, the prophet, the priest, rather, is underlining. As he erupts in song, he is sounding out the praises of the God who has come to bring his salvation. When Mary best sounded a song, she rejoices in God, my Savior. When the angels come and announce to the shepherds in the field the good news, it's good news. Why? Because today, for you in Bethlehem, there has been born who? A Savior, someone who rescues, someone who will meet us in our different needs. It's not only those who are immediately involved in the Christmas narrative who speak in these terms in the immediate aftermath of Christmas when the old man Simeon welcomes Mary and Joseph and the little child, Jesus, into the temple. He takes the child in his arms and gives thanks to God and says, now I can depart this life in peace. Why? Because my eyes have seen your salvation. He recognizes that this person, Jesus, is the one who brings salvation into his experiences, not just Luke. The apostle Paul speaks in similar terms right at the start of that monumental letter, the letter to the Romans. He speaks of the gospel as being the power of God unto salvation. That's what it issues in. That's where it leads to the experience in our lives of the saving power of God. It is a message of salvation. And later on in his life, way, way down the line, as he writes to Timothy, he speaks again in these terms and says, Christ Jesus came into the world. That's Christmas. Christ Jesus came into the world. Why? To save sinners. And so the whole Bible in many ways is really this message of salvation. And salvation is really about the rescuing act of God, that God who gets people out of the mess that they have got themselves into. Now, you are very welcome. We live in the west of Scotland, way down, about as far down the Argyle Peninsula as you can possibly get. That's that little finger of land down the left-hand side of the country. You get a marvellous view of Ireland. You're only 12 miles away. It's the closest point on the British mainland to Ireland. It is remote. It is beautiful. It's a marvellous panorama. you are very welcome to come and stay there. That's an open invitation to you all. I haven't checked it out with my wife, but I'm sure she will be happy. Just don't all come at once. We only have three, possibly four spare rooms, but we do have a garden shed, so we can cram quite a load of folk into that as well. But if you do come, and you're very welcome to come, I'll give you the address later if you want, you're very welcome, but you have to be aware the roads are booby-trapped. I say that advisedly from painful personal experience. They are booby-trapped. I think it's the tourist board that have kind of conjured this up. But the booby-traps consist in the single-track roads that are very, you know, very scenic. And, you know, you kind of drive down there. Oh, what a marvelous view here. Single-track roads, and on either side of the road, there is a ditch. And the ditch is very carefully disguised so that it just looks like it's grass. and the unsuspecting motorist from every other part of the country, eager to let the other car past as they encounter one, drives onto the grass at the side of the road, and of course finds it's not really grass, it's just a trick, an optical illusion that actually it's a ditch. And the ditches there, I mean, the ditches there are not just kind of little trenches that have been dug out, they are deep, I'm telling you, they are really deep. You know when Susan goes looking for brambles, sees the brambles and goes into the ditch to get them, She is up to about there in the ditch. That's how deep the ditches are. And so you are essentially, you are stuck. If you drive remotely off the road and don't think that, you know, you can just ring the mobile phone and get the AA or the RAC to come and help you out, there's no reception. No reception. You are stuck. That's why I think it's the tourist board, you know, because they have now caught you. You are obliged to go and eat and to stay at the hotel, obliged to go and stay and enjoy the delights of the tea room that is there. That's the only way they're going to make their money, because it's not on the road to anywhere. It is a dead end. So I think it's the tourist board that has set this up. But it is booby-trapped. And I tell you, once you get in these ditches, you are stuck. We carry a rope in the back of the car, because we are accustomed to people who've got themselves into that situation. Usually, it's the kind of wife that is driving down the road. And as soon as that happens, the husband says, oh, come on, you're letting me out. And he gets out. dripped into the driver's seat and, you know, he thinks, well, I'm, you know, a man, I'm gonna be able to get out of the ditch like that. And he starts spinning the wheels and he's just digging himself even more. You cannot get out of the ditch. You are stuck. And these poor folk who get stuck in the ditches like that, they will try every which way they know to get out of the ditch, but all that happens, they just get muddier and dirtier and more and more cladded with mud the longer they go on. They are well and truly stuck. Now, the Bible uses that as the sort of picture for the mess that we have got ourselves into, except it doesn't call it a ditch, it calls it a pit, which is probably pretty near what we have down in Argyle, a big pit that runs either side of the road. You veer off the road at all, you are in the pit, and that's the predicament that we have got ourselves into. as far as the Bible is concerned, we need to be rescued. And all our best efforts, all our endeavors to pull our socks up and to try our best and so on and so forth, simply get us more and more cladded with mud and deeper and deeper into the pit. And God's great rescue is to deliver us from that and to bring us into a new place, a new realm. And so the classic narrative in the Bible is in the second book of the Bible, which is called Exodus, which means simply getting out, because that's what God does for us. He gets us out of the mess that we've got ourselves into. He gets us out of the land of slavery, the land of enslavement, where our best efforts can't actually deliver us at all. And he gets our people out from that. a situation that they cannot get out of themselves. He gets them out of that and brings them into a new land, a land of freedom, a land of health, a land of renewal. Now, that's the backdrop to what Paul is writing about to Titus in chapter 3, which is what we're going to look at this morning. Titus chapter 3, if you've got your Bible, page 1199. The backdrop to it is Paul's awareness that that's what God does for us in Jesus Christ. He brings us into a new realm. And this new realm into which we are brought, this new land in which we live, is marked by two great marvelous realities. And you need to hold on to this because this is what holds the whole passage, the whole chapter together. The two great realities that mark out the new realm that he has brought us into in Jesus Christ. First of all, the kingship of Jesus, and secondly, the goodness of God. And his concern is to say, through Titus here, to the Christian church in Crete, where Titus is, his concern is to say, now, your responsibility and your privilege is to tell the people of this island, to tell the people around you, what a wonderful realm this is to live in. And the only way you're gonna be able to do that is to demonstrate that. The only way you'll be able to proclaim this message is to show it and to live it so that people can actually see what a good thing it is to live in this new realm and to know the saving power and grace of God in your life. So how do we do that? That's what he's on about here. First of all, the kingship of Jesus. Chapter 3, verse 1, remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good. Now, pause there. That's the kingship of Jesus. How are people going to see that the great reality at the center of this new life that you live is the kingship of Jesus. You demonstrate it by demonstrating a willingness to subject yourself to the authorities that God has put in place. Remind you the people to be subject to rulers and authorities. That's not a kind of political strategy. It's not a kind of strategic approach. Just keep your heads down and don't rock the boat and hope that no one notes you around. It is a spiritual affirmation. It is the way in which you demonstrate and declare to the world in which you live that there is a final authority in this world. And that's how life works best, under the final authority of the living God. Now you have to demonstrate that, he says, because we live in a world that is marked by anything but that willingness to subject ourselves to authority. A world that dislikes authority in any form. In the Bible, the book of Judges is a good illustration of what happens when you don't have that sort of authority, what happens when people start living life as though they were king. And everyone's doing that. It's chaos. You know, you need to kind of think of a combination of the Eaton Wall game and three-year-old children being given percussion instruments. I was along at the mother and toddler group on Friday morning. And what a marvelous work that is that is done there on a Friday morning with any number of children and their mums and the odd dad. Well, the occasional, not the odd. Sam's not an odd guy. The the occasional dad thrown in as well from all sorts of different backgrounds and an opportunity That's wonderfully taken to to share the message of the gospel marvelous And I was lapping it all up, and then fearing what was going to happen when it comes to the critical bit, when the percussion instruments are handed out. Now, percussion instruments, you know, cymbals and rattles and tambourines and things like that, with two-year-olds and three-year-old children, that's a recipe for, not really music, it's kind of noise. You know, and they sing through it, and they make a joyful noise, a tune through it all, but it's just chaos, basically, when you land that note. You want to think of that sort of scenario where they're just going to play it. They're just going to hammer the rattle and bang the cymbal and bash the drum and things like that. Of course they are, that's what they do, without any real concern necessarily to stay in time with someone who's marking the time and keeping the right musically. That's what happens in life when everyone becomes their own boss. Everyone wants to shake their own rattle and bang their own cymbal in their own time and at their own convenience and so on. We need authority and that's what's given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what Paul is on about here. Remind the people to demonstrate that there is that authority, that we live our lives under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the final authority, and we give expression to that by the way in which in the state we live under the authority of those who exercise government. Now, that's a fairly radical thing for Paul to be saying here because at the time that he was writing, the final authority in the Roman Empire was not exactly favorably inclined to Christian people. Nero was not your ideal ruler, and yet Paul is saying you subject yourselves to the rulers and authorities. You don't get to choose. who the rulers are. No one in their right mind would have chosen Nero the way he turned out. You don't have to agree with the rulers, and you may well not even like the rulers, but you are subject to them. Not because they are great guys, but because you are demonstrating that there is a final authority. And he says, you teach the people to learn to live like that, both within the state, within the church, under the leadership of the elders. Again, you don't get to choose them, you don't necessarily agree with them, you don't even like them necessarily, but that's the way it is. You demonstrate. that there is a king, and his name is Jesus. So it reminds them, he says, to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient. And then also, alongside the kingship of Jesus, there is the goodness of God, the second part there of that opening paragraph. The goodness of God, it is a good land. that the Lord has brought us into, is it not? He has rescued us from the pit, and he has brought us into a new realm, and that's a good realm. It's a wonderful realm, and it is marked by the sheer goodness of God. So when God speaks in Exodus chapter three about his having come down, it's a kind of parallel passage to Christmas itself. I have come down, he says in Exodus chapter three verses, I have come down because I've I've heard your cry, I've seen your need, you can't get yourself out. I've come down to rescue you, to take you out of that slavery, out of that pit, and to bring you into a land that is flowing with milk and honey. And I appreciate if you don't like milk or you're allergic to milk and you don't like honey then it's not the best of metaphors, but the idea behind it is the comfort and the solace that there is in your mother's milk on the one hand, good for you, and the strength and energy that there is in the sweetness of the honey. You know, the land flowing with red bull doesn't have quite the same ring to it, I suppose. But it's that sort of notion, the love and the care of God and the energy and power of God. That's this land, this realm into which we're brought in and through Jesus Christ. The goodness of God, a God who is lavishly good towards us. And that's underlined again and again and again. It's a good land, a good land that I'm bringing you into. and the goodness of God. And Paul says, now you've got to live in a way that people see that it is actually good to live in the land of life with Jesus Christ. You know, when people look at you and see the way that you live out your life, do they guess that it's a good land? That it is really a good life? That it's the goodness of God that you're enjoying in your life? Well, live like that, he says. How do you do that? He says, well, you're careful about the way that you conduct yourself, your actions. Be ready to do whatever is good. Don't simply moan on about all the things that are wrong in Aberdeen and all the things that are wrong in the way that the council conducts life and all the things that are wrong in the society in which you live. There are a whole load of things that are good, so get involved in them. Give yourself to them. Whatever is good, do it, he says. Don't stand back and say, whoa, I'd get contaminated if I touched that. A load of good things go on, so give yourself to them. Do whatever is good. Your actions convey the notion that it's a good land and a good God who does us good in our lives. So go out and do it, he says. Go and do whatever is good. Your actions, your speech. Slander, no one. Be very careful about how you speak, what you say, not just what you say, but also what is going to be heard through what you say. Be careful about that so that it's what's good and what does people good that comes across. Why? Because you want to say to folks that this God does me good. This God, when He speaks to me, does me good, and it's good that this God speaks with me, and so I will, in the way that I speak, as well as in the way that I act, I will do good to those around me as well. Not just your actions and your words, but also your attitudes. Be peaceable and considerate. so that your attitude towards those around you demonstrates just how good God is towards you. That's how he is towards you. He's not on the war path against you. He's not constantly chasing you around with a big baton and trying to do you harm. He is peaceable. He wants you to know and enjoy his peace in your life, and he is considerate. He considers you. He watches over you, understands you, understands where you're at, what you need, far better than anyone else. Learn to live like that, says Paul, so that people can see just how good it is to be part of God's people, to live in God's land. So your actions, your words, your attitudes, and indeed your manner as well to show true humility or gentleness towards all. That's how God is towards you. Be gentle, be patient, be kind and considerate towards others because that's how God is. So that's what he wants to ensure is displayed in the way in which we live our lives. This new realm into which we've been delivered from the pit is a land, a realm that is marked by the kingship of Jesus and by the goodness of God. So live it. Now how do you learn to do that? Three things, Paul says. First, He says to Peter, to Titus rather, keep repeating the truths of the gospel to them. See how it starts, chapter three, verse one, remind them. You have to keep repeating these gospel truths. That's what he goes on to in verses three to seven of the chapter. Keep reminding the people just what a big thing it is that God has done for you. so that you never lose sight of that, so you never get preoccupied with other things. Allow your every horizon to be filled with the sheer magnitude of what the living God has done for you. So verse 3, he's saying, remind them again and again just of what it is that they have been saved from. Tell them about the ditch. Tell them how deep it was. Tell them how messy it was. Remind them of what it was like to live in that realm. It's no fun being stuck in that muddy, dirty ditch from which you can't get out. It's a realm that he describes in these terms here, marked by our being foolish. That's to say, we just do not get it. You know, you can't make sense of the world, and it's a crazy place that you live in. That's not a comfortable position to be in. Even Paul, who was pretty smart, pretty clever, you know, he left most of us trailing in terms of his intellectual ability and his theological acumen and all the initials after his name. But even he could look Jesus, the very Son of God, in the face and still didn't get it. That's how foolish he says he was. He was that blind, he couldn't even see the thing that was just staring him in the face. Disobedient? We don't like to think of it as that, but that's basically what it was. When we're in that realm of a formal life, We're thinking to ourselves that, hey, I can manage it. I can sort out the problems in life myself. I can run the show. I don't need God to show me how to do things. I kind of have got it all figured. I can work it all out and we effectively try and be our own God. We make our own decisions, our own choices, set our own rules and our own parameters, seek to do it all in our own strength. Paul says, yeah, that's just plain disobedient. So we're foolish, we're disobedient, we're deceived, Well, I'm not easily deceived, but we are. We're taken in the whole time. We're taken in by the oldest trick in the book that you can actually be God. That was the original line in Genesis chapter 3. The devil comes to Adam and Eve and says, you know, This whole business about allowing God to be God, you know. Grow up, be mature. You can be your own gods. You'll be able to see things and do things as God himself. That's a far better way to, and you know, they bought into the lie. And we very, very easily buy into the lie. That's the whole business of adverts. We are basically pretty gullible people. And so we see it on the screen and we believe that this perfume is gonna mean that all the men are gonna come flocking to you. Or not. Or if you only buy this box of chocolates at Christmas, that's gonna solve all your problems. It's not, you're probably gonna have to go to Weight Watchers next week, things like that. People sometimes ask me, have you ever smoked? And I have to confess, yes, I did once. And I did once because I was gullible. I saw an advert for Hamlet cigars. But it was the music and the little clip that was on, you know, air in a G-string, Basque air in a G-string. And I thought, wow, this is an experience not to be missed. So I went out and bought a packet of cigars and thought, this is going to be it. I'm going to be alive, because I'd never been alive before. And just hearing in my ear the air in a G-string playing, I just bought into the lie. It did nothing for me except make me cough and stink. So I have four spare cigars. Actually, I don't because my mom found them in a drawer and I said, don't use these. But I said, now, what is this? And I said, oh, you know, that's another story. We're easily deceived and taken in the whole time. And more than deceived, we're enslaved. That's the worst of it. We're enslaved to our pleasures and passions. We just can't break certain habits. They get a grip on us, and despite our best intention, despite our endeavors, we end up still doing the thing that actually doesn't give us any satisfaction, doesn't give us any pleasure, and we can't break the habit, or it just kind of ruins us. So foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved and embittered. A world that is marked by malice and envy and hatred. It's not really a nice life to live that, says Paul. You know, you have to keep reminding them that. That sin isn't really satisfying. It's frustrating, it's a dead end, it's dark, it's desperate, and it doesn't do you any good at all. So you keep reminding them of that, from what you've been saved. And more than that, then on four or five following, remind them of how you've been saved. That's, first of all, the merciful love of God. When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us. Not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. Not because I was a good guy, not because I was the best of a bad junk bunch, not because I could point to a whole load of other people who'd made an even bigger mess of me or an even more of a mess in the ditch. Not because God thought that maybe if he kind of got a hold of me before things went really rotten, he'd be able to do something with me in a way that he wasn't going to be able to do something with me. just pure and simple out of His mercy, out of His love, out of a kindness on the part of Almighty God that stretches right back to eternity and that was pleased to set His heart and His eye upon me and to take me out of that pit. The merciful love of God, the costly death of His Son, you see how that ends there towards the end of verse 6 there, through Jesus Christ our Savior. It's through that ministry that he came to exercise when he was born into this world and assumed our humanity. Through that life that he lived on our part where he, in the face of all the trials and all the temptations and all the pressures that we experience on him, multiply that by a factor of who knows what, he bore all of that but lived a life of matchless and perfect obedience. He was the one who did finally measure up. to all that God calls us and means us and made us to be as human beings. He alone did that. He came into this world in order to live that life on our behalf, measure it up, and then the one person who didn't need to die, the one person who didn't deserve the wrath of a holy God upon his wrongdoing, he took our place and bore our wrongdoing in his own person and became for us our unrighteousness, so that He might soak up the full measure of the wrath of Almighty God against sinful individuals like ourselves, in order that we might be made righteous in His sight. death of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's how you were saved. That's how big the thing is. It involved the eternal Son of God having to come down into this world. What a come down. What an impoverishing that there was for the very Son of God coming into this world. In the mercy of Almighty God, in the compassion that He had, in the love and the care that He had for you in order to get you out of that mess that you had got yourself into, to deliver you out of that into a new realm. He was willing to send his own son into this world to face and endure all the torment, all the trials, all the tribulations, all the pain, the sorrowing, the suffering that there was, and even the horror of that dark, dreadful death upon the cross, and hell itself, and all the bleak darkness and abandonment of the cross. The forsakenness of his father. That's what it cost. the merciful love of God, the costly death of His Son, and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. When the kindness and love of our God, our Savior, appeared here, He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God applying to our lives the benefits of the life, death, and ministry of the Son of God, applying them to our lives and making us new, bringing us to newness of life, breathing life into those who are dead on account of our trespasses, and breathing that life into us and generating that faith that placed us in Christ so that in Him we might be washed and cleansed and made right before Almighty God and then beginning that renewing work of transforming us until one day we shall be the very likeness of God. Remind them, says Paul. Keep repeating. these truths and remind them of that, then they will be glad to live a life that demonstrates the kingship of Jesus and the goodness of God. When they remember what this King has done for them, when they remember how good this God is towards them, not just from what you've been saved and how you've been saved, but to what as well you've been saved, so that having been justified by His grace, verse 7, we might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life. In other words, we are now made children, but we are just heirs. And the thing about an heir is that they haven't really entered fully into the inheritance that is going to be theirs one day. We've only just begun to discover how good God's grace is towards us. What a wonderful thing it is to be part of God's family. What a wonderful thing it is to know God's forgiveness. What a wonderful thing it is to know the presence of God, and the power of God, and the help of God, and the leading of God, the direction of God in our lives, his enabling and his provision for us. But that's just a small glimpse of the sheer glory that is weighed up for us in the life that is to come, a life that is forever, and a life that is the very life of God himself, the best is yet to come. So keep repeating these to the people, says Paul. We must rush on, verse eight. That's the first thing, keep repeating these truths. Verse eight, keep stressing these truths as well. See that? This is a trustworthy saying. So don't downplay these great, great gospel truths. Flag them up as being of the utmost importance. Flag them up as being those truths that day by day we need to have clear in our minds and in our hearts. This is a trustworthy saying and I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful, careful, to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. In other words, you have to stress what it is that God has done in saving you in order that we, aware of that, might indeed be the better placed, the better motivated, the better fired by the Spirit of God to live that way ourselves. That's the family into which we've been brought. That's the DNA that we've now been given in Jesus Christ. That's what it looks like. these great truths about a God who is full of mercy and kindness and love. A God who is so ready to come into this world and so ready to endure so much gently, patiently for us. And so willing to endure all that in order to lead us into a future that is far better. Now, stress that and you'll begin to see that's how to live life. That's what life looks like when it's being lived properly. And again, it's the kingship of Jesus and the goodness of God that he wants to see demonstrated in the lives of his people. So verse 9, the goodness of God, avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law because these are unprofitable and useless. Well, we probably need to hear that because we're quite prone to all our little controversies. You know, the decorations on the Christmas tree, decorations all around here, a huge amount of work being put into this by Ian Walker, and it looks lovely, doesn't it? But a huge amount of work. And we all have our ideas about exactly, oh, maybe we could do it a different way, or maybe do a different decoration. And before you know it, you're kind of having an argument about that. Or if the walls need to be painted. And some people think, well, this is the best color, and this is someone else's another color. We argue about the most crazy little things. And before you know it, you're arguing the toss about things that don't really matter. So Paul here is stressing the way that you conduct yourselves, demonstrate the goodness of God. And he's talking here about just asking yourself, what is actually going to help build people up rather than drag people down? What is going to do them good? Edification in a simple sense. Is this how God is? Does God kind of engage in kind of crazy controversies with us and pursue silly little arguments with us? I was on a panel evening a week past Friday down in Kintyre, booby-trapped country. It's where you get, you know, a small crowd of people to gather. They've got no other option to do on a Friday night. and one of the four panelists and a whole string of questions. And the last question was, how vital is it that you believe in an old earth or a young earth? Well, there's a recipe for, you know, about 25 hours worth of argument, discussion and debate and controversy and so on and so forth. So I was the first up. So I said, not very. And they kind of looked at me and thought, you know, this guy usually goes on for hours. I said, yeah, I said, not very vital. So, you know, just walk away. That's what Paul's talking about here. Just walk away, don't get involved. It's not really gonna do anyone any good to spend the whole night at loggerheads about this sort of thing, because bottom line is, you probably don't know at the end of the day. You want an illustration of that? Turn to the book of Job. That's a book that's just one long dispute. And this guy, Job, who's lost everything. He's suffered appallingly. He's lost his property. He's lost his wealth. He's lost his family. He's lost his reputation. He's lost his dignity. He's lost his health. He's lost absolutely everything. The guy is distraught, and these guys come around, his friends, supposedly. And for a little bit, they just kind of sit there with him. And then, you know, controversy. They can't resist it. They get into debate with him about, you know, exactly what he must have done wrong. And Job says, no, well, I didn't really do. You know, it wasn't really my fault. And they said, well, it must be. And for 37 chapters, it's ding-dong, ding-dong, back and forth. Well, you must have done. Oh, no, I didn't. Oh, yes, you did. And it just gets worse and worse and worse. And 37 chapters in, God pitches up and says, you guys, zip it. Just stop your disputing. You're not doing this guy any good at all by your dispute. That's not what he needs at all. This guy needs an arm around his shoulder, not any arguments from yourself. And then for the next few chapters, he kind of takes Job on a guided tour of the universe that makes David Attenborough seem as though he was kind of pre-Kindergarten stuff. I say, you don't have a clue about 95% of the things that go on in this universe. You just don't have a clue, so don't waste your time debating it, discussing it, and so on. That's not gonna do you any good at all. The goodness of God, he wants to do this guy good. Same with Jesus and his disciples when they see the man born blind in John chapter nine. and controversy. Oh, they want to get straight into it. Oh, well, you know, whose fault is that? Was it this guy? He must have done something wrong to be blind. Well, you know, maybe not him. Maybe it was his parents. Maybe he's a victim, not a culprit and thing. And before they know it, they're just getting into the usual ding-dong battle about who's the problem and who's caused it and so on, disputing it like that. And Jesus says, zip it. You can argue the toss till the cows come home of this. The guy's still blind. That's his problem. So how are you going to take it on from here? How are you going to do this guy good? That's what Paul's on about. The goodness of God and also the kingship of Jesus. See that's how he goes on. You stress these truths to underscore and demonstrate the goodness of God and the kingship of Jesus. Verse 10, warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time after that. Have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful. He is self-condemned. In other words, in the life of a fellowship, not only is it important that there is that edification, that concern to build one another up, but also alongside that, genuine discipline. The divisive person is the translation of a word that we get our word heretic from. And it has to do with choosing. That's the root meaning of the word. And it's the notion of my choosing, my choice being the important thing. I will decide, I will choose what I believe. I will choose where I go. I will choose how I conduct myself. And when we begin to adopt that attitude where my choosing becomes the determining thing, then it becomes divisive. That's why the translation is divisive. So Paul says, you've got to handle that in the life of fellowship because it's a natural gravitation that we have to become choosy people. And so basically, he says, it's kind of yellow card and red card stuff here. Two yellows and a red, basically. That's what he's on about. You need a referee, and you need to operate with a referee. And you don't answer back. You don't talk back to a referee, at least not in the game of rugby. You talk back to the referee in rugby, he says, fine, another 10 yards. And you object to that, another 10 yards. And before you know it, you're actually just giving away a try. Because the referee decides things. He may sometimes get it wrong, but he's the one who's king, who referees, who says that's the decision. End of story. Finito. Football's a bit different. They kind of have only read the book of judges where everyone does what's right in their own eyes and there's no king. But that's what he's on about. In the life of fellowship, the kingship of Jesus, the goodness of God, stress these things so that the way that they conduct themselves would demonstrate that. And he closes off, and we must just rush through these so you get the idea here, verses 12 to the end. But it's again, the kingship of Jesus and the goodness of God that he's pointing to verse 12 as soon as I As I send Artemus or Tychicus to you do your best to come to me at Nicola Nicola polis because I've decided to winter there do everything you can to help Xena's the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything that they need that's kingship. That's a decisive leader. He's sending a Artemis and Tychicus to there. He's deciding that Nicopolis is where we'll winter. And you, Titus, you're to come here and make sure that you do that with your needs. Isn't that wonderful? He provides for all your needs. but the Lord is not pleased to place all the resources of heaven at your disposal in order to meet your need. Philippians chapter four, my God will supply and provide for all your needs. That's what God does, so live it. Just go and show that by providing for the needs of others. God is always at work, always at work to produce, always at work to create, always at work in such a way that solutions are being found, that a way forward is being presented, that that which is good is being produced for His people. So live like that, says Paul. Let people see that that's who your God is, that's what this life is, that's what this realm is. And greet one another. The word really has to do with drawing to yourself. It's the picture really of, you know, a guy who's got his arms up and says, you know, just come here and let me give you a hug. all the hassle, all the problems, all the troubles that you have, all the sorrows, the griefs and the problems that you may, just come here. Let me just greet you and hold you to myself and wrap my arms around you and let you know that you're not alone in this. That's how God is. He says, yeah, I know what you're struggling with. I know the problems that you've got. I know the things that grieve you, the things that trouble you, and so on. Just come here, he says. Just come here and let me envelop you with my love and know that you're not alone. And Paul says, so live like that. Live these truths as well as stress them and repeat them. It is a message of wonderful rescue and salvation that God has secured for us and proclaimed to us in Jesus' Son. And that new realm marked by the kingship of Jesus and the goodness of God is something that we are to demonstrate by the manner in which we live out our lives. Please, God, we shall be able to do so in a way that commends His grace to one and all. Let us pray. God, our Father, thank you indeed for all your great goodness to us. Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for that remarkable mercy and grace shown towards us that we celebrate all over afresh in the wonder of Christmas itself. enable us then, both in our individual lives and in our life, as a fellowship of your people, to portray that in a way that is attractive and winsome and makes Jesus in all His grace known. And we ask it for His namesake. Amen.